1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for balancing the muscles of the spine of a patient suffering from a condition of spinal muscle imbalance, and a therapeutic treatment instrument for performing the method of treatment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Over the course of life people experience various events which subject parts of their bodies and muscles in their bodies to trauma of varying degrees. When the body is subjected to significant trauma, such as cutting or tearing of muscles, tendons, or ligaments; broken bones; severe contusions; and other physically traumatic injuries to the human body, the healing process within the body is sometimes accompanied by alterations to the muscles that hold the spine in substantially center alignment relative to the patient's body. That is, healing occurs such that some of the muscles acting upon the spine exert inadequate forces, while other muscles may exert forces that are overly strong. As a result, the spine of a patient, when viewed from the front or back, is no longer vertically aligned directly beneath the patient's head, but to the contrary, is pulled inordinately to the left or right at locations between the spine extremities where the spine joins the patient's skull and where the spine terminates in the tail bone.
Even slight deviations of proper spinal muscle balance can produce significant physical or emotional problems in some patients. Muscular imbalance of the spine often leads to excessively frequent or chronic backaches and can also produce conditions of chronic anxiety as well as pains in the patient's extremities.
An imbalance of the spinal muscles imparts laterally acting forces on the spine. These lateral forces deflect portions of the spine significantly from proper alignment in a vertical fore and aft plane bisecting the patient's body. A deformation of the spine is both painful and debilitating. The patient cannot freely move without significant pain in performing even mundane, every-day activities such as standing, sitting, walking, and turning.